In order to completely solve the problem of drinking water for the rural inhabitants in the central and northern part of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Province will invest 15.2 billion yuan (RMB) to implement the regional water supply planning for Central Jiangsu including Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Taizhou, and Nantong Cities, as well as Northern Jiangsu, accomplishing the water supply for 718 towns.

Up to now, the shortage of drinking water has been aggravated in some parts of Jiangsu. The water quality of about 2/3 of the water areas is worse than the third class①, the reliance on water conservancy is high, there are hidden dangers in some drinking water sources, the ability to deal with emergencies is poor, and there are only 19 cities in the entire province which have more than two water sources at the same time.

During the period of the 11th Five-year Plan, Jiangsu Province plans to focus on the regional water supply planning in central and northern Jiangsu to ensure that the water supply coverage will reach 80% in central Jiangsu and 60% in northern Jiangsu, the general scale of constructed water plants will be 918 Mm3/d, and the benefiting rural population will be 24.96 million.

① Editor’s note: According to the water quality, the water areas in China are classified into five categories, with the higher the class, the worse the water quality.